Tony Hawk's IQ And 14 More Eyebrow-Arching Trivia Tidbits

Some pharmaceutical company practices take our breath away – literally.
Tony Hawk's IQ And 14 More Eyebrow-Arching Trivia Tidbits

So, I enjoy this list of interesting facts as much as the next guy. In fact, I've been known to come up with my own stupendous facts. But I do have a bit of an obsession with the subject matter. I've been working on my magnum opus, The Stupendous Facts of the World, which is expected to run well over ten thousand pages. I have learned so much, you see. There are some facts that seem rather unimportant at first glance, but when you really think about it, they can be quite illuminating. Like how the ancient Sumerians believed that their god Enki had a pet octopus. That's right. An octopus. I know, I know. It seems unlikely. But I h­ave it from a reputable source, and it makes perfect sense when you think about it. I'm not saying that they were worshipping a real-life octopus. Just that they thought there was a god, and that he had something resembling an octopus as a pet. That's what we call ‘belief.’ Uhhh… okay, maybe I made that whole thing up. Anyway, enjoy the list:

A lottery winner bought the ticket to prove it was a waste of money.

B JI A woman won a million dollar lottery trying to 1 A77, GlücksSpirale und Sieger Chance/Spielscheinnummer Hier 5 aus 50 Zahlen ankreuzen 1 9 8 7264118 6 prove that they were a 5 waste of money. 3 4 2 1 20 42 19 18 16 15 13 14 12 41 11 30 29 28 26 25 40 24 Los-Nr. für SUPER 6 23 22 21 39 40 38 36 35 34 33 32 31 50 50 49 48 46 DM 45 44 42 43 OF Hier 2 aus 10 Eurozahlen ankreuzen 8 7 6 5 3 4 GRACKED.COM S 3

CNN

Weird Al brought dates to see a film he was in without them knowing.

Weird Al Yankovic would take dates to see The Naked Gun without telling them he was in it. CRACKED COM When he'd show up on screen emerging from that airplane, they just flipped out, especially when they realized he was wearing that exact same Hawaiian shirt.

The Paris Review

Shoveling snow is a known cause for heart attacks.

Heart attacks are common while shoveling snow. GRAGKED.COM Shoveling snow is a known cause for heart attacks. In- creased blood pressure combined with cold air constricting arteries cre- ates the right environment for it to happen.

BBC

Sandman was defeated by a vacuum cleaner.

In his first appearance, the Spider-Man villain Sandman was defeated by a vacuum cleaner. CRACKED.COM Spider-Man sucks up the sili- cate sidewinder using the tools he had handy in the jan- itor supply closet they had been duking it out in. Then, Spidey takes a picture of himself fighting the leftover bits of sand.

ComicBook

No one can outrank George Washington, in the past or future.

George Washington has an ever-changing military rank. CRACKED.COM Due to American Public Law 94-479, Washington is protected from being out- ranked by any officer in the past, present, and fu- ture. If there's a 6-star general, Washington is au- tomatically upgraded to 7.

Congress

A fake Havana Airport was almost built in Florida.

A fake Havana Airport was almost built in South Florida because there were so many flight hijackings. AEROPUERTO INTERNACIONAL JOSE MARTI-HABANA GRACKED.COM Flight hijacking from the USA to Cuba during the 60s/70s was so common, pilots were equipped with detour flight plans. The phony Havana Airport was too expensive to build, but was considered.

Slate 

A lost city with more buildings than Manhattan was discovered in Mexico.

In 2012, a lost ancient city in Mexico named Angamuco was uncovered. CRACKED.COM It was built by a civilization that was rival to the Aztecs and it remained buried un- der vegetation for centu- ries, with more buildings than Manhattan in a small- er area of land.

AU News

The Human Cork could stay afloat for hours, and no one knows how.

A freak show performer in the early 20th century could stay afloat in water for hours. GRAGKED.COM Angelo Faticoni was known as the Human Cork, who could not sink, even with 20 pound weights attached to his ankles. Doctors concluded he did not have abnormal internal organs, but Faticoni died before he could reveal his secret.

Weird Universe

A zoo holds a voluntary penguin parade, when the penguins feel like it.

The Edinburgh Zoo holds a daily penguin parade, unless the penguins don't feel like it. GRAGKED.COM The parade started in 1951 when a gate was acciden- tally left open and a gen- too penguin escaped. The keeper decided to see what would happen and it was followed by other pen- guins in single file.

RZSS

England had a queen in 1553 that only sat on the throne for 9 days.

England's Forgotten Queen was only the Queen of England for 9 days in 1553. LA CRACKED.COM Lady Jane Grey only as- cended to the throne be- cause Edward VI wanted to keep a Protestant as the sovereign of England. She was then deposed and exe- cuted the following year.

Britannica

A US Congressman told the enemy their depth charges detonated too soon.

A congressman let it slip that Japanese depth charges during WWII detonated too soon. CRACKED COM After Congressman Andrew May's remarks during the press conference, the Japa- nese changed depth-charge tactics, killing 800 US sub- mariners. The leak became known as The May Incident.

War History Online

Pharmaceutical companies sabotaged their own product so they could make an inferior one.

Asthma inhaler manufacturers lobbied the FDA to ban their own product. GRACKED.COM The companies holding the medication patent stoked environmental concerns with the inhalers after the patent expired, just so they could file a new patent for lower-quality inhalers and make more profit.

Mother Jones

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